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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 124 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. kick — in football
  5. spell — a short time
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. date — the fruit
  9. spell — letters
  10. lean — to bend
  11. ground — the earth
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. spell — magic
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. lean — thin
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rush — hurry
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. ground — a position
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. ground — crushed

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