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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. field — for sport
  4. swing — music
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. field — a subject
  10. wind — moving air
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. can — to be able to
  13. swing — to play on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pit — in a race
  16. field — farmland
  17. can — a tin
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. can — a tin
  22. kick — in football
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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