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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. kick — in football
  4. roll — a cake
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. charge — electricity
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. roll — a list
  12. chest — a box
  13. bear — the animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. snap — to click
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. charge — a price
  20. charge — in control
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bear — the animal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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