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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cell — in biology
  9. row — a line
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rule — a law
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rule — government

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