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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 116 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: rule · wound · wind · stock · racket · kick · bay · spell

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rule — government
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. kick — in football
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. rule — a law

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