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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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468
Word bank
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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. file — a line of people
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kick — in football
  9. pitch — completely
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. drill — army training
  14. branch — a division
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. swing — in golf
  17. file — a document
  18. drill — a practice
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. file — a tool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. row — a line
  23. kid — child
  24. kick — a thrill

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