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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. chest — a box
  3. land — a country
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. swing — music
  7. last — to go on
  8. band — a music group
  9. last — final
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. last — finally
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. swing — to play on
  19. kick — in football
  20. scale — in music
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. land — ground
  23. land — to come down
  24. scale — size or range

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