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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 120 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. content — happy
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. kick — in football
  12. fork — in a road
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bark — to shout
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. content — the amount
  24. bass — the fish

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