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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: mouse · pound · rash · kick · bat · chair · cold · swing

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. swing — music
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. swing — in golf
  19. rash — a series
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chair — to sit on

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