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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: kick · rule · plane · drill · mate · tube · land · snap

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rule — government
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — to come down
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mate — a partner
  10. land — ground
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. tube — a container
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. tube — the underground
  15. snap — to click
  16. drill — the tool
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mate — to breed
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mate — a friend
  21. kick — in football
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rule — a law
  24. land — a country

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