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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rule — government
  4. kick — in football
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rule — a law
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. staff — employees
  12. hand — help
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spell — a short time
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. staff — a stick
  23. spell — letters
  24. staff — employees

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