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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. ground — crushed
  4. rock — a stone
  5. ground — a position
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. kick — in football
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. board — a committee
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. ground — the earth
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. rock — music
  19. capital — a city
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. capital — money

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