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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 116 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — low music
  4. firm — a company
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. firm — steady
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. firm — decided
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bass — the fish
  21. kick — in football
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wake — a trail
  24. hand — help

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