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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rock — music
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bank — for money
  6. cap — a hat
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. field — farmland
  9. cap — a lid
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cap — of ice
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bank — for money
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. bank — of a river
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kick — a thrill

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