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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. can — to be able to
  3. spell — letters
  4. pit — a hole
  5. kick — in football
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. hand — in cards
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. spell — magic
  13. hand — help
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. can — a tin
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bark — to shout
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. can — a tin
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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