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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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468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spring — a coil
  5. land — to come down
  6. spring — of water
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — the season
  12. land — ground
  13. kick — in football
  14. land — a country
  15. degree — temperature
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. degree — from a university
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. craft — boats
  24. hand — help

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