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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. degree — from a university
  3. swing — to play on
  4. present — there
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. present — a gift
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. degree — an amount
  10. present — the time now
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. date — the fruit
  15. degree — temperature
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. kick — in football
  21. foot — a measure
  22. swing — in golf
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. jam — in traffic

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