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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. swing — music
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wind — moving air
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. swing — in golf
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ground — a position
  14. kick — in football
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ground — crushed
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ground — the earth
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bark — of a tree

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