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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — a path
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. branch — a division
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. perch — the fish
  10. tube — the underground
  11. track — to keep track
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tube — a container
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — in football
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. pass — a permit
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. track — a song

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