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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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 — in football
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. spring — of water
  8. march — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. last — finally
  12. march — the month
  13. mug — to rob
  14. last — to go on
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mug — a face
  17. spring — the season
  18. game — a match
  19. march — the month
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mug — a cup
  22. rush — hurry
  23. last — final
  24. swing — in golf

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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