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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · swing · toast · cold · plane · kick

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cold — an illness
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. firm — steady
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. firm — a company
  9. swing — to play on
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. kick — in football
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. swing — music

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