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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. spring — of water
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cell — a phone
  10. shower — rain
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. kick — in football
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — in biology
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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