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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: present · kid · land · band · snap · kick · ball · swing

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kid — child
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — to come down
  7. present — a gift
  8. ball — a dance
  9. present — there
  10. swing — music
  11. ball — a great time
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. land — ground
  16. band — a music group
  17. present — the time now
  18. swing — in golf
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. snap — to click
  21. land — a country
  22. swing — to play on
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. kick — in football

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