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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wound — an injury
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rule — government
  11. kick — in football
  12. kid — child
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bank — for money
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bank — for money
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bank — of a river
  22. rule — a law
  23. ball — a dance
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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