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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — to play on
  3. hand — in cards
  4. drill — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. drill — a practice
  7. hand — help
  8. pit — in a race
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lie — to recline
  16. kid — to tease
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pit — a hole
  20. kid — child
  21. drill — army training
  22. swing — music
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. perch — for a bird

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