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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. kick — in football
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cue — a hint
  9. pit — in a race
  10. band — a ring
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cue — a signal
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. file — a tool
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — help
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pit — a hole
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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