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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pit — a hole
  4. object — to protest
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pit — in a race
  8. squash — to crush
  9. club — for golf
  10. rush — hurry
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. club — a group
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kick — in football
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kick — with a leg

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