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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 120 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — a trace
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. key — the most important part
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. fork — in a road
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. key — in music
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. shower — rain
  20. key — for a lock
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fork — a garden tool

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