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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: snap · chair · arm · present · fan · kick · sharp · cold

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chair — a leader
  13. present — there
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. present — a gift
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. present — the time now
  22. sharp — clever
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. sharp — with an edge

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