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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. game — a match
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. race — a contest
  11. clip — to cut
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. race — the arms race
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. clip — a video
  19. race — humankind
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kick — in football

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