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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. rush — hurry
  3. race — the arms race
  4. capital — money
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. present — the time now
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. kick — in football
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. present — there
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. race — humankind
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. capital — a city
  23. snap — to click
  24. race — a contest

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