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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. drill — a practice
  4. tube — the underground
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kick — in football
  10. file — a line of people
  11. drill — army training
  12. wind — moving air
  13. file — a document
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chip — to eat
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. file — a tool
  22. chip — for betting
  23. prune — to trim
  24. tube — a container

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