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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. spring — the season
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. hand — help
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. file — a tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stand — to bear
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. spring — of water

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