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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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. lie — an untruth
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. staff — employees
  6. lie — to recline
  7. wind — moving air
  8. roll — a list
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. drill — army training
  12. kick — in football
  13. roll — a cake
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. drill — the tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. drill — a practice
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. staff — employees
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. staff — a stick

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