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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kick — in football
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chest — a box
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. swing — music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. swing — to play on
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. coach — a trainer

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