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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. present — a gift
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. hand — help
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rest — a break
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kick — in football
  15. present — there
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — in cards
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. present — the time now

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