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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spell — letters
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spell — magic
  8. content — happy
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rash — hasty
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kick — in football
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. content — the amount
  24. temple — a place of worship

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