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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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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: pit · row · key · rule · foot · file · kick · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. file — a tool
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rule — government
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. key — in music
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. file — a document
  11. row — a line
  12. file — a line of people
  13. key — for a lock
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. key — the most important part
  18. foot — a measure
  19. kid — child
  20. pit — in a race
  21. rule — a law
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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