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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: arm · wake · wind · hide · bat · roll · march · kick

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. roll — a list
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. march — music
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wake — a trail
  16. march — the month
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kick — in football

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