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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. swing — to play on
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. last — final
  6. hand — in cards
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. cue — a signal
  15. hand — help
  16. cue — a hint
  17. kick — in football
  18. band — a ring
  19. swing — music
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cue — for pool
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. hand — part of the body

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