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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rest — what's left
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. swing — in golf
  5. mate — a friend
  6. last — finally
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bore — to drill
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. swing — to play on
  11. rest — what's left
  12. last — final
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kick — in football
  17. game — a match
  18. rest — a break
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. game — wild animals
  23. swing — music
  24. mate — to breed

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