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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: row · land · wake · swing · ruler · kick · chest · leaves

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kick — in football
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wake — a trail
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. swing — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. land — to come down
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. land — ground
  14. row — a line
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. land — a country
  17. swing — to play on
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. row — to paddle
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — lets stay

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