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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. land — ground
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. tube — a container
  6. land — a country
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. kid — child
  9. chest — of your body
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kid — to tease
  14. branch — a division
  15. kick — in football
  16. tube — the underground
  17. craft — boats
  18. object — a thing
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. craft — a skill
  22. chest — a box
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. object — an aim

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