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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pass — a permit
  4. dip — to sink
  5. snap — to click
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rule — government
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. rule — a law
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of a king
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. chest — a box
  19. court — for sport
  20. kick — in football
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. court — of law
  24. trunk — of a tree

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