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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. last — final
  4. spring — of water
  5. last — to go on
  6. board — to get on
  7. tube — the underground
  8. rash — a series
  9. board — a committee
  10. branch — a division
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. spring — a coil
  13. last — finally
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. tube — a container
  16. kick — in football
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rush — hurry
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spring — the season
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rush — to hurry

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