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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kick — in football
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bark — to shout
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. race — humankind
  14. ground — crushed
  15. snap — to click
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. lean — thin
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cabinet — ministers

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