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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. kick — in football
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — the arms race
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. wake — a trail
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hand — help
  17. race — humankind
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. lash — an eyelash

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