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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kick — in football
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. drill — a practice
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kid — child
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. hand — help
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mark — a grade
  18. drill — army training
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. spell — letters
  23. drill — the tool
  24. spell — magic

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