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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. court — for sport
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. court — of law
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. court — of a king
  14. kick — in football
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. band — a ring
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. band — a music group
  23. plane — a tool
  24. band — a rubber band

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