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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kid — to tease
  3. plane — a tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. stem — to come from
  6. chip — for betting
  7. field — a subject
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. field — for sport
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. swing — to play on
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. field — farmland
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. chip — to eat
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. kick — in football
  24. kid — child

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