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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 120 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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cell — a phone
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. swing — to play on
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bore — to tire
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bore — to drill
  15. swing — in golf
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. swing — music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. kick — in football
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kid — child

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