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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. swing — music
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bound — tied together
  11. track — a path
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. chest — a box
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. track — a song
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kick — in football
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. swing — to play on

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