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

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bound — obliged
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mate — a partner
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. prune — to trim
  9. file — a line of people
  10. ball — a dance
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a document
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. file — a tool
  16. bound — certain
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kick — in football
  20. swing — music
  21. mate — a friend
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bound — tied together

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