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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 116 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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. key — the most important part
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. snap — to click
  5. march — music
  6. row — a line
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. march — the month
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. march — the month
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ground — the earth
  21. row — to paddle
  22. ground — a position
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kick — in football

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