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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kid — child
  4. band — a ring
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. net — after costs
  7. present — the time now
  8. swing — in golf
  9. band — a music group
  10. present — a gift
  11. swing — to play on
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. net — in sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. net — for catching
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. swing — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. kick — in football

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