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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mark — a trace
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. mark — a grade
  7. season — in sport
  8. rest — a break
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. spring — a coil
  12. ground — crushed
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — of water
  16. ground — a position
  17. scale — size or range
  18. season — of the year
  19. scale — in music
  20. kick — in football
  21. rest — what's left
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spring — the season

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