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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — in football
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. file — a tool
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bear — the animal
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bear — the animal
  12. file — a document
  13. prune — to trim
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. squash — to crush
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. squash — the sport
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. file — a line of people

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