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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bore — to tire
  4. club — a group
  5. bass — low music
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. swing — music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bore — to drill
  12. last — final
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. kick — in football
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kid — to tease
  21. club — for golf
  22. bass — the fish
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cold — not warm

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