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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. present — a gift
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. present — there
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mug — a cup
  10. kid — child
  11. present — the time now
  12. land — to come down
  13. shower — rain
  14. kick — in football
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. mug — to rob
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. mug — a face
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mark — a grade
  24. shower — to wash

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