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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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Word bank
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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. staff — employees
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. kick — in football
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chest — a box
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spell — magic
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — an illness
  14. spell — a short time
  15. roll — a list
  16. spell — letters
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — not warm

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