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

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. kick — in football
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bass — the fish
  13. rest — a break
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bass — low music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chip — for betting
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cold — the Cold War

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