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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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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. land — to come down
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. land — a country
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fall — the season
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. land — ground
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. craft — a skill
  15. kick — in football
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wind — moving air
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. fall — to drop
  21. craft — boats
  22. swing — in golf
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. nail — on a finger

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