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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. swing — music
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kick — in football
  8. degree — an amount
  9. swing — to play on
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — rain
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cold — an illness
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wound — an injury

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