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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pass — a permit
  4. land — a country
  5. rock — music
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitch — completely
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pop — soda
  13. land — ground
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. land — to come down
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pop — to visit
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pop — music

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