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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. rash — a series
  3. game — a match
  4. rush — hurry
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. land — a country
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kick — in football
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — a hole
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pit — in a race

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