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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. kick — in football
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bat — the animal
  10. sharp — clever
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cold — an illness
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. club — for dancing

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