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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. club — for golf
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. degree — temperature
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. club — for dancing
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. swing — music
  12. degree — an amount
  13. club — a group
  14. content — the amount
  15. bass — low music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kick — in football
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. stand — to bear

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