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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 124 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pit — in a race
  3. clip — a video
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. firm — a company
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rest — what's left
  8. hand — in cards
  9. firm — decided
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pit — a hole
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. hand — help
  17. branch — a division
  18. firm — steady
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — to cut
  21. kick — in football
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rest — a break
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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