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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chest — a box
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. date — the fruit
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pop — music
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kick — in football

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