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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. key — the most important part
  8. tear — to rip
  9. key — for a lock
  10. tear — from crying
  11. suit — in cards
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. plane — a tool
  14. suit — clothes
  15. key — in music
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. suit — to fit
  19. kick — in football
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wind — moving air
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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