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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · hand · pop · nail · rest · roll · cold · jam

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. hand — help
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pop — to visit
  9. roll — a list
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. pop — soda
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rest — what's left
  22. roll — a cake
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. kick — in football

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