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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 116 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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Word bank
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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 · mouse · march · face · swing · wake · court · wound

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. swing — in golf
  5. court — of a king
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. swing — to play on
  9. face — part of the head
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — music
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. court — of law
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — a trail
  23. court — for sport
  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