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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. swing — to play on
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mark — a grade
  7. hand — help
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. fine — high quality
  10. mark — a trace
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kid — to tease
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. kid — child

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