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

Word bank: racket · cold · saw · kid · kick · chair · season · bass

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bass — the fish
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cold — an illness
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. cold — not warm
  15. season — in sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. season — of the year
  18. kick — in football
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bass — low music
  23. chair — a leader
  24. saw — the tool

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