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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. kick — in football
  5. foot — a measure
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rule — government
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. tube — the underground
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. lie — to recline
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rule — a law
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bark — of a tree

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