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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chip — for betting
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. spring — of water
  9. kid — child
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spring — a coil
  13. chip — to eat
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kick — in football
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers

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