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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — in football
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — money
  11. mug — to rob
  12. capital — a city
  13. mug — a face
  14. rest — what's left
  15. date — the fruit
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mug — a cup
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rest — a break
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — an illness

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