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

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kid — child
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. game — wild animals
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bass — low music
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. game — a match
  22. kick — in football
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bass — the instrument

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