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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. kick — in football
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. chest — a box
  15. rest — a break
  16. cold — not warm
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rock — a stone
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kick — with a leg

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