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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. scale — in music
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. scale — size or range
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. spell — magic
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bore — to tire
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. kick — in football
  16. fall — the season
  17. spell — letters
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bore — to drill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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