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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. suit — in cards
  3. net — for catching
  4. season — in sport
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. cold — not warm
  10. season — of the year
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. net — after costs
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chip — for betting
  18. net — in sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. suit — to fit
  22. suit — clothes
  23. chest — of your body
  24. march — the month

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