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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. land — ground
  3. degree — an amount
  4. land — to come down
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. land — a country
  18. degree — from a university
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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