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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. last — to go on
  5. squash — the sport
  6. kick — in football
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. firm — steady
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. firm — a company
  13. squash — to crush
  14. firm — decided
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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