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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — child
  5. last — final
  6. wound — an injury
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fork — in a road
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — to go on
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. snap — to click

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