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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: lean · wound · chest · rash · tear · fine · wind · kick

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rash — hasty
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chest — a box
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — all right
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. tear — to rip
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to bend
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rash — a series
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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