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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.

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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. object — an aim
  4. kick — in football
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. game — a match
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. object — a thing
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. drill — army training
  19. chip — for betting
  20. object — to protest
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. press — to push
  24. chip — to eat

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