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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chest — a box
  4. date — the fruit
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cold — an illness
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ground — crushed
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. staff — employees
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kick — in football
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. tube — a container
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. craft — boats
  24. kick — a thrill

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