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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cell — a phone
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. foot — a measure
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kick — in football
  13. net — after costs
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — from a university
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. kid — to tease
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. net — for catching
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. net — in sport

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