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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. net — in sport
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. net — for catching
  12. kick — in football
  13. pop — to visit
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pop — soda
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pop — music

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