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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rush — hurry
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. spell — letters
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. calf — of the 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