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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: rest · lash · shower · track · leaves · wind · game · kick

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. track — a path
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kick — in football
  11. track — a song
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. game — a match
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. rest — a break
  17. shower — rain
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. track — to keep track
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wind — to turn a key

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