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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. board — a committee
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. tube — the underground
  8. face — to point toward
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. kick — in football
  11. squash — to crush
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. tube — a container
  14. face — to confront
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — an illness
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. face — part of the head
  22. board — to get on
  23. cold — not warm
  24. tube — in a tire

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