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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. swing — to play on
  3. object — a thing
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. object — to protest
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spring — of water
  10. swing — music
  11. spring — the season
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spring — a coil
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. object — an aim
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a music group
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wake — a trail
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. band — a ring

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