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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. row — a line
  3. court — for sport
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. court — of law
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rule — government
  9. rash — hasty
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. swing — to play on
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. tube — a container
  15. swing — music
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. row — to paddle
  19. kick — in football
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. rule — a law
  22. rash — a series
  23. tube — the underground
  24. court — of a king

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