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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. spell — letters
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. march — music
  5. club — for dancing
  6. game — wild animals
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. club — a group
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. club — for golf
  11. foot — a measure
  12. chest — of your body
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spell — a short time
  15. march — the month
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. spell — magic
  22. game — a match
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. game — a kind of play

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