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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kick — in football
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. race — humankind
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bass — the fish
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bass — low music
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. chair — a leader
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — a contest
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — the arms race
  24. shower — rain

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