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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. net — after costs
  6. spell — letters
  7. kick — in football
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. net — in sport
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. roll — a list
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. spell — magic
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. kid — child
  19. spell — a short time
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — to tease

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