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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kick — in football
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. branch — a division
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to drill
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bore — to tire

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