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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. swing — music
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. rush — hurry
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. swing — in golf
  12. last — final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fine — all right
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. last — finally
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. kick — in football
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. last — to go on
  24. coach — pulled by horses

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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