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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. net — for catching
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. plane — a tool
  11. branch — a division
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. ball — a dance
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. chip — for betting
  18. ball — a great time
  19. net — in sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. hand — help
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. hand — in cards
  24. net — after costs

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