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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. spell — magic
  7. kick — in football
  8. kid — child
  9. chip — for betting
  10. net — for catching
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. spell — letters
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. net — after costs
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — in sport
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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