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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. kid — to tease
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wound — an injury
  17. snap — to click
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. kick — in football
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cell — a phone
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. fan — a supporter

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