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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. field — a subject
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. snap — to click
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rest — a break
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. net — for catching
  13. rest — what's left
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. kid — child
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. net — in sport
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. field — for sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. field — farmland
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. kick — in football

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