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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. chest — of your body
  3. swing — to play on
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. swing — music
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. swing — in golf
  9. charge — in control
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rule — government
  14. ball — a great time
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. charge — electricity
  18. chest — a box
  19. kick — in football
  20. perch — the fish
  21. charge — a price
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rush — 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