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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. swing — music
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — to play on
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — in football
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. shower — to wash
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wind — moving air

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