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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. pit — a hole
  6. band — a music group
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. content — happy
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kick — in football
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. chest — a box
  17. prune — to trim
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. content — the amount
  20. band — a ring
  21. pit — in a race
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. prune — the fruit

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