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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rule — government
  5. chair — a leader
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. fork — in a road
  12. kick — in football
  13. rule — a law
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. swing — music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. swing — to play on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. hand — help
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. swing — in golf

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