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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. kick — in football
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. fork — in a road
  16. kid — child
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wax — to grow
  19. field — a subject
  20. pit — in a race
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. kick — a thrill
  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