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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: cabinet · wind · dip · wake · kid · kick · band · rock

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. band — a ring
  9. rock — a stone
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. band — a music group
  13. dip — to sink
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — child
  23. wake — a trail
  24. kick — a thrill

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