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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. can — a tin
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. key — the most important part
  10. kick — in football
  11. cold — not warm
  12. charge — electricity
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. charge — a price
  21. swing — music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cold — an illness
  24. charge — in control

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