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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. object — a thing
  4. fork — in a road
  5. kid — to tease
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. kick — in football
  8. object — an aim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kid — child
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kick — with a leg

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