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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. cold — an illness
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bulb — for light
  5. swing — music
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. land — to come down
  10. bulb — for light
  11. land — a country
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. land — ground
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kick — in football
  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