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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. ground — crushed
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. court — of law
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. court — of a king
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ground — a position
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. season — in sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. season — of the year
  23. court — for sport
  24. toast — bread

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