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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cap — a hat
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cap — a lid
  6. root — the cause
  7. current — happening now
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. root — of a plant
  11. present — there
  12. cap — of ice
  13. lean — to bend
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — in football
  17. chest — of your body
  18. current — electric
  19. root — of a word
  20. lean — thin
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. present — the time now
  24. current — of water

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