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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. row — a line
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. hand — help
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bass — low music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. swing — music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chair — a leader
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. kick — in football
  24. swing — to play on

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