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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chip — for betting
  5. rash — a series
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. drill — a practice
  9. kid — child
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bank — for money
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. drill — army training
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kick — in football
  21. bat — the animal
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. drill — the tool

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