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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. hand — help
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — a container
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. tube — the underground
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rash — hasty
  14. hand — in cards
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. season — of the year
  18. kick — in football
  19. rash — a series
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. season — in sport
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. fork — in a road

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