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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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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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. can — to be able to
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. can — a tin
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. can — a tin
  19. kick — in football
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. file — a document
  22. pass — a permit
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cabinet — ministers

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