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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. club — for golf
  4. mark — a grade
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mine — for digging
  7. rule — a law
  8. file — a document
  9. spell — letters
  10. mark — a trace
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. file — a tool
  15. rash — hasty
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. club — for dancing
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rash — a series
  21. club — a group
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rule — government

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