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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cold — an illness
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. object — to protest
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. object — an aim
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. object — a thing
  15. ground — crushed
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ground — the earth
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. lean — to bend
  22. ground — a position
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — thin

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