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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. ball — a great time
  3. land — to come down
  4. mark — a trace
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cap — of ice
  8. land — ground
  9. wind — moving air
  10. land — a country
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rush — hurry
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kick — in football
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rush — a thrill

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