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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. key — the most important part
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. kick — in football
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. key — for a lock
  11. swing — in golf
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. key — in music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. swing — music

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