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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cap — a hat
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. kick — in football
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chair — a leader
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cap — a lid
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. fork — in a road
  23. tear — from crying
  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