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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bore — to tire
  4. wind — moving air
  5. firm — decided
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bound — obliged
  8. game — a match
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bore — to drill
  12. swing — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bound — certain
  15. swing — in golf
  16. firm — steady
  17. swing — to play on
  18. game — wild animals
  19. firm — a company
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bound — tied together
  22. roll — a list
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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