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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. net — after costs
  10. bear — the animal
  11. net — for catching
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — hurry
  16. kick — in football
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. net — in sport
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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