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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.

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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spell — letters
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. spring — of water
  9. spell — magic
  10. squash — the sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. last — to go on
  13. mug — a cup
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. squash — to crush
  17. last — finally
  18. mug — a face
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — final
  22. spring — a coil
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mug — to rob

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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