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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. row — to paddle
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. row — a line
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. kick — in football
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. game — a match
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bear — the animal
  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