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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. foot — a measure
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. current — of water
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — not warm
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. current — electric
  12. march — the month
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — in football
  15. current — happening now
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — music
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. squash — to crush
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — the vegetable

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