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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · calf · snap · kick · racket · pass · sharp · row

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. pass — a permit
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. snap — to click
  20. sharp — clever
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. kick — in football
  23. racket — for tennis
  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