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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — a box
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wind — moving air
  9. root — of a word
  10. season — of the year
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pop — soda
  14. kick — in football
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rest — a break
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pop — music
  21. root — the cause
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — to turn a key

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