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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kid — child
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. track — a song
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — a path
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. chest — a box
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chest — of your body

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