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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 a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wind — moving air
  6. sharp — clever
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rush — hurry
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. row — to paddle
  13. net — in sport
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. kick — in football
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. calf — a young animal

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