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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — the animal
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. charge — electricity
  14. charge — a price
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. charge — in control
  17. content — the amount
  18. kick — in football
  19. content — happy
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. trunk — of a tree

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