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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 116 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rock — music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. fine — all right
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. kick — in football
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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