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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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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kick — in football
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. capital — a city
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. fall — the season
  22. capital — money
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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