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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 120 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. net — in sport
  4. lean — to bend
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. swing — to play on
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. deal — to handle
  13. net — after costs
  14. squash — to crush
  15. swing — music
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. net — for catching
  21. swing — in golf
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. kick — a thrill

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