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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. last — to go on
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. last — final
  8. hand — help
  9. root — of a word
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bass — the fish
  13. root — the cause
  14. kick — in football
  15. last — finally
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bass — low music
  20. root — of a plant
  21. race — humankind
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chair — a leader

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