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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. present — there
  3. kick — in football
  4. fall — to drop
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ground — a position
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. present — a gift
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. spring — the season
  16. present — the time now
  17. fall — the season
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spring — of water
  21. rash — hasty
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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