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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tube — a container
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. drill — army training
  13. board — a committee
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. board — to get on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. kick — in football
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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