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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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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. rest — a break
  5. charge — a price
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. land — ground
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. charge — in control
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. land — to come down
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. land — a country
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. snap — to click
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. prune — to trim
  24. date — the fruit

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