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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. mark — a trace
  5. clip — a video
  6. rest — what's left
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — electricity
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rest — a break
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mark — a grade
  20. stem — to come from
  21. charge — a price
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kid — child
  24. game — a match

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