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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pop — soda
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pop — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. field — farmland
  9. lie — to recline
  10. club — for golf
  11. pop — to visit
  12. club — for dancing
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. hand — help
  17. club — a group
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. field — a subject
  22. kick — in football
  23. plane — a tool
  24. field — for sport

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