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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bound — tied together
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. game — a match
  7. fork — in a road
  8. sharp — clever
  9. swing — music
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. game — wild animals
  12. kick — in football
  13. bound — certain
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bound — obliged

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