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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rash — a series
  14. club — for golf
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. fork — in a road
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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