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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — a friend
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. squash — the sport
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mate — a partner
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rush — hurry
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. squash — to crush
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mate — to breed
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. kick — in football
  24. rush — a thrill

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