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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. 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. bowl — a dish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. kid — to tease
  9. last — final
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. snap — to click
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. kid — child
  14. last — finally
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. last — to go on
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. 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