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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. march — music
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bass — the fish
  5. spring — the season
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kick — in football
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bass — low music
  11. tube — a container
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — of water
  15. swing — music
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. spring — a coil
  18. march — the month
  19. pit — a hole
  20. swing — in golf
  21. squash — the sport
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pit — in a race
  24. tube — the underground

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