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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chest — a box
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. march — the month
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cap — of ice
  11. rest — a break
  12. cap — a hat
  13. march — music
  14. land — a country
  15. rest — what's left
  16. land — ground
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. march — the month
  19. kick — in football
  20. chest — of your body
  21. land — to come down
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chest — of your body
  24. snap — to click

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