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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kid — child
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. march — music
  8. kick — in football
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lean — thin
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bark — to shout
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. rush — hurry
  18. march — the month
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chest — a box
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — to tease
  24. spell — letters

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