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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. deal — to handle
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. lean — to bend
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. key — for a lock
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. wind — moving air
  12. clip — to cut
  13. key — the most important part
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. clip — for paper
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. kick — in football
  20. key — in music
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. clip — a video
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. lean — thin

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