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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. swing — music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. craft — a skill
  8. field — a subject
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. kick — in football
  18. field — farmland
  19. rule — government
  20. field — for sport
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ball — a dance
  24. craft — boats

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