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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. degree — from a university
  4. charge — a price
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mark — a trace
  7. kick — in football
  8. charge — electricity
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — a container
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. degree — temperature
  17. charge — in control
  18. hand — help
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bowl — to roll

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