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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rule — a law
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. last — finally
  7. spring — the season
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. spring — a coil
  11. last — final
  12. rule — government
  13. hand — in cards
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spring — of water
  17. last — to go on
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. saw — the tool
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. saw — the tool
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. hand — help

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