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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. hand — in cards
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. track — to keep track
  7. swing — in golf
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wax — to grow
  11. hand — help
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. toast — bread
  20. chest — a box
  21. kick — in football
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  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