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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. craft — boats
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. swing — music
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. club — a group
  14. swing — in golf
  15. content — the amount
  16. stand — to bear
  17. kick — in football
  18. bark — to shout
  19. craft — a skill
  20. club — for golf
  21. content — happy
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. club — for dancing
  24. swing — to play on

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