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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hand — help
  3. land — to come down
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. land — ground
  6. suit — clothes
  7. suit — in cards
  8. cue — for pool
  9. suit — to fit
  10. rush — hurry
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — in football
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cue — a signal
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. dip — to sink
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cue — a hint
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. land — a country

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