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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. game — a match
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chest — a box
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. drill — a practice
  9. ground — crushed
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. ground — the earth
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. drill — army training
  20. kick — in football
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — a position
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. saw — the tool

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