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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. last — finally
  3. ground — the earth
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. drill — army training
  8. land — a country
  9. ground — crushed
  10. kick — in football
  11. drill — a practice
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. last — to go on
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. can — a tin
  17. drill — the tool
  18. last — final
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — to be able to
  21. ground — a position
  22. land — ground
  23. land — to come down
  24. straw — dry grass

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