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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. mug — a cup
  2. club — a group
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. club — for dancing
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mug — a face
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — for golf
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. kick — in football
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mug — to rob
  23. wound — an injury
  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