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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bass — low music
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bark — to shout
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cold — not warm
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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