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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. sharp — clever
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. kid — child
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. present — the time now
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. swing — to play on
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. vault — a safe
  16. present — a gift
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kid — to tease
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. present — there
  23. swing — music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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