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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. spell — letters
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spring — the season
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. sharp — clever
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. lie — to recline
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spell — magic
  14. spring — of water
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rest — what's left
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. kick — in football

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