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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. kid — child
  3. firm — a company
  4. kick — in football
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kid — to tease
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rash — a series
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. firm — decided
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rule — government

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