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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. perch — the fish
  3. swing — music
  4. rush — hurry
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. field — a subject
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. field — farmland
  10. kick — in football
  11. object — to protest
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. object — an aim
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. kid — to tease
  17. net — after costs
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. net — for catching
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. object — a thing
  22. net — in sport
  23. kid — child
  24. field — for sport

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