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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. snap — to click
  4. capital — money
  5. chair — a leader
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chip — for betting
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chip — to eat
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kick — in football
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. cell — a phone
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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