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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wound — an injury
  7. swing — in golf
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pop — to visit
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pop — soda
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pop — music
  14. swing — music
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bat — the animal
  21. scale — in music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. swing — to play on
  24. racket — a loud noise

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