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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. kick — in football
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. hand — help
  12. snap — to click
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rock — music
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. drill — the tool
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rock — a stone
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rock — to move gently

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