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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tube — a container
  4. fine — high quality
  5. tube — the underground
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rash — hasty
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. ball — a great time
  14. fine — all right
  15. spell — magic
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rash — a series
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spell — letters
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spell — a short time
  24. ball — a dance

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