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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cold — not warm
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lean — to bend
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. band — a music group
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. firm — decided
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. cell — in biology
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cell — a phone
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — steady
  19. sharp — clever
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a ring
  24. lean — thin

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