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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a match
  6. mark — a trace
  7. swing — music
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. file — a document
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. kick — in football
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. file — a line of people
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mark — a grade
  20. game — wild animals
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. saw — the tool
  24. file — a tool

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