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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. swing — music
  3. kick — in football
  4. pop — music
  5. ground — crushed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spell — letters
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pop — soda
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spell — a short time
  15. board — a committee
  16. cold — an illness
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spell — magic
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pop — to visit
  23. board — to get on
  24. kick — a thrill

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