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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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Word bank
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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: drill · dip · race · stem · fan · wind · ball · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ball — a dance
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. drill — the tool
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wind — moving air
  12. drill — army training
  13. stem — to come from
  14. race — a contest
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. dip — to sink
  18. race — the arms race
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kick — in football
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. race — humankind

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