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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pop — music
  3. root — the cause
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. swing — music
  6. root — of a plant
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cold — an illness
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. pop — to visit
  12. root — of a word
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. kick — in football
  17. game — wild animals
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. game — a match
  21. pop — soda
  22. swing — in golf
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. kick — with a leg

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