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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 116 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. swing — music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cold — an illness
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. key — for a lock
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. key — in music
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. swing — in golf
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. snap — to click

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