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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. land — to come down
  4. swing — to play on
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rash — a series
  9. drill — army training
  10. present — a gift
  11. land — a country
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. snap — to click
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — there
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. land — ground

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