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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. stem — to come from
  3. band — a music group
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. band — a ring
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spell — a short time
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. face — to confront
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. land — to come down
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. land — ground
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. land — a country
  24. face — to point toward

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