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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ground — a position
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — a container
  10. ground — the earth
  11. vault — a safe
  12. board — to get on
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tube — the underground
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. board — a committee
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kick — in football

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