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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.

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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 · land · wave · jam · tube · rule · arm · bat

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. land — ground
  3. rule — a law
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. tube — a container
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tube — the underground
  9. kick — in football
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. rule — government
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. land — a country
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. land — to come down

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