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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. scale — in music
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mark — a grade
  13. rest — a break
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cold — an illness
  17. craft — a skill
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kick — in football
  24. fork — in a road

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