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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cap — of ice
  4. kick — in football
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. rule — a law
  11. cap — a lid
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. root — the cause
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fall — the season
  20. rule — government
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. snap — to click
  24. chest — of your body

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