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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bound — certain
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rash — a series
  8. spring — of water
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kick — in football
  11. kid — child
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bound — obliged
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. field — for sport
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. mark — a trace
  19. spring — the season
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. field — farmland
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — a subject
  24. bound — tied together

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