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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. staff — employees
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cell — in biology
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kick — in football
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. tear — to rip
  18. spring — the season
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. staff — a stick
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. staff — employees
  24. net — after costs

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