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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · land · kick · mine · coach · straw · cell · firm

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — steady
  5. land — to come down
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. kick — in football
  10. firm — decided
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. pit — a hole
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. land — a country
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. land — ground
  19. cell — a phone
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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