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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — for sport
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kick — in football
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. pit — in a race
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. pit — a hole
  18. content — the amount
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ground — the earth

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