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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: kick · swing · game · branch · rule · kid · dip · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rule — a law
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. branch — a division
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. swing — to play on
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. game — a match
  11. rule — government
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kid — to tease
  14. dip — to sink
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. kid — child
  17. swing — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. kick — in football
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. face — to point toward
  24. swing — in golf

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