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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. craft — boats
  6. race — the arms race
  7. snap — to click
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rule — a law
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rule — government
  15. race — a contest
  16. bark — to shout
  17. race — humankind
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kick — in football
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — a skill
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rule — to rule out

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