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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. drill — the tool
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. land — to come down
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. roll — a list
  8. lean — to bend
  9. drill — a practice
  10. land — a country
  11. key — for a lock
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. key — in music
  15. land — ground
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. drill — army training
  19. bat — the animal
  20. key — the most important part
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. kick — in football

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