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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 120 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. swing — to play on
  3. net — after costs
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. net — for catching
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fall — the season
  8. swing — music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kick — in football
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. club — for golf
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. net — in sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. swing — in golf
  24. object — to protest

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