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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. deal — to handle
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. prune — to trim
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. kick — in football
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. saw — the tool
  23. swing — music
  24. mate — to breed

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