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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. ground — crushed
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. game — wild animals
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. swing — music
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — a match
  21. swing — in golf
  22. tear — to rip
  23. band — a ring
  24. game — a kind of play

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