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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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 — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rest — what's left
  4. object — to protest
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. file — a document
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. file — a line of people
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. object — a thing
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. object — an aim
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rest — a break
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. file — a tool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wind — moving air
  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