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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. ground — a position
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ground — crushed
  12. kick — in football
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. ground — the earth
  17. tube — a container
  18. mark — a trace
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mark — a grade
  23. game — a match
  24. mouse — the animal

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