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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spell — magic
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. swing — in golf
  6. squash — to crush
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — a gift
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kick — in football
  15. scale — in music
  16. present — there
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. swing — to play on
  19. row — a line
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. spell — letters
  23. swing — music
  24. kick — a thrill

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