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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. game — a match
  5. club — for golf
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rest — a break
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kick — in football
  16. hand — help
  17. rest — what's left
  18. club — a group
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rest — what's left
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. club — for dancing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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