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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. chest — a box
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. kick — in football
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — to rob
  13. plane — a tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mug — a face
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bark — to shout
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. chest — of your body

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