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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rule — government
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. rule — a law
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. land — a country
  9. net — after costs
  10. land — ground
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wind — moving air
  17. net — in sport
  18. kick — in football
  19. net — for catching
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. land — to come down
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wind — moving air

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