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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: perch · game · calf · swing · degree · chip · kick · wind

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. degree — an amount
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chip — for betting
  16. game — a match
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. kick — in football
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wind — moving air
  22. game — wild animals
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. calf — of the leg

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