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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. swing — in golf
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. hand — help
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — in cards
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bear — the animal
  18. swing — music
  19. perch — the fish
  20. kick — in football
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. land — to come down
  24. kick — a thrill

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