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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. swing — in golf
  3. plane — a tool
  4. cell — a phone
  5. tear — from crying
  6. net — after costs
  7. kick — in football
  8. net — in sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. net — for catching
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. swing — music
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. kick — with a leg

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