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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. march — music
  4. deal — to handle
  5. spell — magic
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ground — the earth
  8. swing — in golf
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cap — a lid
  11. kick — in football
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. swing — to play on
  14. spell — letters
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spell — a short time
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — of ice
  20. swing — music
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. chest — a box
  23. ground — a position
  24. march — the month

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