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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. craft — boats
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cue — a hint
  7. band — a ring
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. date — the fruit
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. shower — rain
  12. cue — for pool
  13. kick — in football
  14. game — wild animals
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. land — a country
  17. shower — to wash
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. band — a music group
  20. land — ground
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cue — a signal
  23. land — to come down
  24. craft — a skill

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