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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. present — there
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. land — a country
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chip — for betting
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. last — finally
  13. present — the time now
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. kick — in football
  16. chip — to eat
  17. last — final
  18. land — ground
  19. present — a gift
  20. last — to go on
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — of the year
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. season — in sport

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