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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. kick — in football
  3. hand — help
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rash — hasty
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rush — hurry
  11. swing — to play on
  12. content — the amount
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. swing — in golf
  16. object — a thing
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. hand — in cards
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. fall — the season
  22. swing — music
  23. fall — to drop
  24. hand — part of the body

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