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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spell — a short time
  4. shower — rain
  5. swing — in golf
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. object — an aim
  8. spell — letters
  9. swing — music
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. swing — to play on
  12. object — to protest
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rash — a series
  15. hand — in cards
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spell — magic
  21. kick — in football
  22. shower — to wash
  23. hand — help
  24. object — a thing

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