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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 124 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kid — child
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kick — in football
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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