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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. land — ground
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. root — the cause
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. land — to come down
  12. root — of a word
  13. branch — a division
  14. race — a contest
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. land — a country
  19. field — farmland
  20. chest — of your body
  21. race — humankind
  22. root — of a plant
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. race — the arms race

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com