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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. land — ground
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. staff — employees
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. staff — a stick
  12. land — a country
  13. kid — child
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. staff — employees
  16. kid — to tease
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. march — the month
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. land — to come down
  24. kick — with a leg

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