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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. club — for golf
  4. kick — in football
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. club — for dancing
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. race — humankind
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. club — a group
  21. race — a contest
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rush — 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