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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. kick — in football
  3. bound — obliged
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. rash — a series
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bound — tied together
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rash — hasty
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. game — a match
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. game — wild animals
  20. wind — moving air
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bound — certain

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