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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. kick — in football
  3. game — wild animals
  4. last — to go on
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — the animal
  7. game — a match
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — finally
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lean — thin
  14. spring — of water
  15. last — final
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. march — the month
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. swing — in golf
  20. march — the month
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spring — the season
  23. march — music
  24. lean — to bend

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