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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. kick — in football
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fork — in a road
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spring — the season

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