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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · saw · fine · rash · kick · file · net · pop

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kid — child
  3. file — a tool
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. net — after costs
  6. pop — music
  7. net — in sport
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — a series
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pop — to visit
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fine — high quality
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. fine — all right
  18. pop — soda
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kick — in football
  22. file — a document
  23. net — for catching
  24. file — a line of people

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