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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. band — a ring
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bass — the fish
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. file — a document
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. club — for golf
  12. file — a tool
  13. snap — to click
  14. band — a music group
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bass — low music
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. club — a group
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. file — a line of people
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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