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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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Word bank
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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. can — a tin
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — bread
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. can — a tin
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. kick — in football
  24. can — to be able to

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