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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. track — a path
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kick — in football
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. club — for dancing
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. track — to keep track
  16. cold — not warm
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — a group
  21. snap — to click
  22. club — for golf
  23. track — a song
  24. clip — for paper

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