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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. kid — child
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. ground — the earth
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ground — a position
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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