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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. cold — an illness
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pitch — completely
  11. swing — music
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stem — to come from
  14. land — ground
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — a lid
  19. land — a country
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stem — a stem cell

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