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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spring — a coil
  6. face — to confront
  7. spring — of water
  8. kick — in football
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. swing — to play on
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. swing — music
  21. tear — from crying
  22. spring — the season
  23. face — part of the head
  24. swing — in golf

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