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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ground — crushed
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. file — a tool
  7. bulb — for light
  8. key — in music
  9. ground — the earth
  10. march — music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. swing — music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. march — the month
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ground — a position
  21. swing — to play on
  22. march — the month
  23. file — a document
  24. swing — in golf

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