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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. kick — in football
  7. chest — of your body
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. band — a ring
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. branch — a division
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. chest — a box
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. band — a music group
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wind — moving air

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