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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — an illness
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — in football
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — not warm
  15. present — there
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bear — the animal
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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