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

Word bank: drill · rule · lean · kick · ground · court · mine · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. drill — the tool
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. court — of a king
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rule — a law
  10. drill — army training
  11. kick — in football
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mine — for digging
  14. lean — to bend
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — belonging to me

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