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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. snap — to click
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. degree — from a university
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kid — child
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. degree — an amount
  14. board — a committee
  15. pass — a permit
  16. kick — in football
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. kid — to tease
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. board — to get on
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. kick — a thrill

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