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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mug — a cup
  6. kick — in football
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mug — a face
  12. rush — hurry
  13. mug — to rob
  14. root — the cause
  15. season — of the year
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. season — in sport
  18. fork — in a road
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. root — of a plant
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. branch — a division
  23. root — of a word
  24. branch — of a bank

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