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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. rush — hurry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wake — a trail
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. kick — in football
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. wind — to turn a key

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