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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. race — a contest
  5. content — happy
  6. spring — the season
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. content — the amount
  11. bore — to drill
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — a division
  16. race — humankind
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. race — the arms race
  19. chest — a box
  20. bore — to tire
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. kick — in football
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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