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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. scale — in music
  4. net — for catching
  5. roll — a list
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. net — in sport
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. net — after costs
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mine — for digging
  22. scale — size or range
  23. roll — a cake
  24. scale — for weighing

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