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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kick — in football
  7. plane — a tool
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — clever
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mark — a trace
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — a series
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kid — child
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. clip — a video
  22. rash — hasty
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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