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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — the season
  4. shower — to wash
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. content — happy
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chest — a box
  10. fall — to drop
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spell — letters
  14. content — the amount
  15. chest — of your body
  16. shower — rain
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spell — magic
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — in football
  24. fall — to drop

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