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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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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: swing · cell · ball · rash · nail · kick · content · rock

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. content — happy
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. swing — to play on
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. kick — in football
  11. swing — in golf
  12. ball — a dance
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cell — a phone
  15. ball — a great time
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rash — a series
  22. content — the amount
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. swing — music

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