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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — in football
  5. march — the month
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. hand — help
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rash — a series
  12. hand — in cards
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — a weight
  16. march — music
  17. craft — boats
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cap — a hat
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rash — hasty

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