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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.

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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.

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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pit — in a race
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kid — child
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kid — to tease
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kick — in football
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. game — a match
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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