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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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468
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. kick — in football
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. face — to confront
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. face — to point toward
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wake — a trail
  16. craft — boats
  17. fork — in a road
  18. craft — a skill
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pound — a weight
  23. row — a quarrel
  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