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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: present · kick · content · tear · rush · deal · wind · safe

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. content — happy
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. tear — from crying
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. rush — hurry
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. present — a gift
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — in football
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. present — there
  22. content — the amount
  23. present — the time now
  24. tear — to rip

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