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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 124 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. kid — child
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rock — music
  9. staff — employees
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kick — in football
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. race — a contest
  19. rock — a stone
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. race — humankind
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. pitcher — a jug

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