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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: kick · rock · bay · fan · rush · tear · fall · foot

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kick — in football
  6. rush — hurry
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rock — music
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rock — a stone
  23. fall — the season
  24. fan — a supporter

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