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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. mine — for digging
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. march — the month
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rash — a series
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rash — hasty
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. march — music
  20. current — electric
  21. march — the month
  22. ball — a great time
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — of water

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