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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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Word bank
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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: game · row · kick · suit · swing · content · pitcher · cell

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. suit — in cards
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. content — the amount
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. swing — in golf
  9. content — happy
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cell — a phone
  12. game — a match
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. suit — to fit
  16. swing — to play on
  17. row — a line
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. suit — clothes
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cell — in biology
  23. kick — in football
  24. game — a kind of play

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