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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. squash — to crush
  5. stem — to come from
  6. hand — help
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fine — all right
  9. chest — of your body
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bore — to drill
  12. hand — in cards
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kid — child
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fine — high quality
  20. chest — a box
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. squash — the sport
  24. stem — a stem cell

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