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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. firm — a company
  6. clip — for paper
  7. firm — decided
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. stock — shares
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wind — moving air
  14. firm — steady
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rush — hurry
  17. spell — magic
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. clip — a video
  20. snap — to click
  21. stock — goods
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wind — moving air

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