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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. mate — a friend
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. perch — the fish
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. fine — all right
  8. wind — moving air
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. mate — a partner
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fine — high quality
  15. mate — to breed
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. kick — in football
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. kick — with a leg

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