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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. press — a publisher
  4. mark — a trace
  5. board — to get on
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mug — to rob
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. press — newspapers
  11. kick — in football
  12. mug — a cup
  13. spell — letters
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spell — a short time
  18. swing — music
  19. press — to push
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — magic
  22. swing — in golf
  23. mug — a face
  24. board — a committee

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