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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: kid · jam · bear · rest · mark · kick · cold · arm

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rest — a break
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kid — to tease
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kick — in football
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mark — a grade
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bear — the animal
  20. kid — child
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. bear — to put up with

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