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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cue — a signal
  4. file — a line of people
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rule — a law
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. file — a tool
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cue — for pool
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cue — a hint
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. file — a document
  22. rule — government
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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