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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. drill — army training
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. march — the month
  7. kick — in football
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. drill — the tool
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. object — to protest
  13. kid — to tease
  14. file — a document
  15. drill — a practice
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a tool
  18. march — music
  19. kid — child
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. object — a thing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. object — an aim
  24. march — the month

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