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

Word bank: rest · lean · object · kick · file · rash · mine · wind

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wind — moving air
  3. file — a tool
  4. lean — thin
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. object — to protest
  8. kick — in football
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. object — a thing
  12. rash — a series
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. object — an aim
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rest — a break
  23. lean — to bend
  24. kick — a thrill

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