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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. mate — a partner
  3. current — of water
  4. snap — to click
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. kick — in football
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. current — electric
  13. mate — a friend
  14. court — for sport
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. current — happening now
  17. rule — government
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rule — a law
  20. fork — in a road
  21. court — of law
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. court — of a king
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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