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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. staff — employees
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. squash — the sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. shower — to wash
  8. staff — employees
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. net — for catching
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. net — after costs
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rule — government
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. shower — rain
  20. rule — a law
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bat — the animal
  23. staff — a stick
  24. kick — in football

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