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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. key — in music
  3. net — after costs
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. spring — of water
  8. key — for a lock
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. key — the most important part
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — in football
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — soda
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pop — music
  21. net — in sport
  22. spring — the season
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — child

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