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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. scale — in music
  3. spell — a short time
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. swing — to play on
  6. board — a committee
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. spring — of water
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spell — magic
  16. spring — the season
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. spring — a coil
  19. board — to get on
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. kick — in football
  22. kid — child
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. spell — letters

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