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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kick — in football
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — to shout
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. tear — from crying
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. season — of the year
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. season — in sport
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cap — a hat
  21. tear — to rip
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. kick — with a leg

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