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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. game — wild animals
  5. land — to come down
  6. rest — what's left
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. race — a contest
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. race — humankind
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. snap — to click
  14. rest — what's left
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rest — a break
  17. cap — of ice
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. game — a match
  21. cap — a hat
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cap — a lid
  24. race — the arms race

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