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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: tear · chest · scale · present · kick · bulb · swing · hand

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kick — in football
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. scale — size or range
  10. hand — in cards
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. hand — help
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chest — of your body
  15. present — a gift
  16. scale — in music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — to play on
  19. present — there
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chest — a box
  22. present — the time now
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bulb — for light

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