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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mine — for digging
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. game — wild animals
  5. face — to confront
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. face — to point toward
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. face — part of the head
  11. rule — government
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. game — a match
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. kick — in football
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. kid — child
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — a law

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