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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: mine · kick · game · spring · lie · cue · ground · nail

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. spring — a coil
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. game — wild animals
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cue — a signal
  16. ground — the earth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — a match
  23. kick — in football
  24. ground — a position

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