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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: roll · kick · toast · rush · object · tear · wind · kid

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. tear — from crying
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. object — to protest
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. rush — hurry
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wind — moving air
  12. roll — a list
  13. kid — child
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — a thing
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wind — moving air
  18. toast — bread
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kid — to tease
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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