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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. chest — a box
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. tube — the underground
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. charge — in control
  14. fine — high quality
  15. charge — a price
  16. clip — to cut
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. clip — a video
  22. charge — electricity
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tube — a container

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