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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. mate — a friend
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. shower — rain
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mate — to breed
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. scale — size or range
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. scale — in music
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — a thrill

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