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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. land — to come down
  4. cue — a signal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. kick — in football
  9. cue — a hint
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. land — ground
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cue — for pool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. plane — a tool
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. sharp — clever
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. land — a country
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. snap — to click

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