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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. current — of water
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. current — electric
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. net — in sport
  12. current — happening now
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. kick — in football
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. net — after costs
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. drill — the tool
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. net — for catching
  24. drill — army training

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