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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. file — a tool
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wind — moving air
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. plane — a tool
  19. swing — to play on
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mine — for digging
  22. file — a line of people
  23. staff — employees
  24. file — a document

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