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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — an illness
  5. track — a song
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. track — to keep track
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. track — a path
  11. swing — in golf
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. band — a music group
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. band — a ring
  16. foot — a measure
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bulb — for light
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. swing — music
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — the Cold War

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