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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. march — music
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bank — for money
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. march — the month
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bank — for money
  11. chest — a box
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. kick — in football
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — for digging
  21. march — the month
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bank — of a river

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