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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. drill — a practice
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. drill — army training
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — a coil
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kick — in football
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hand — help
  18. spring — of water
  19. swing — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. spring — the season
  23. swing — in golf
  24. hand — in cards

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