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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fall — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. snap — to click
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pass — a permit
  10. kick — in football
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rush — hurry
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fall — to drop

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