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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. foot — a measure
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rest — what's left
  12. date — the fruit
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rest — a break
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fork — in a road
  22. rest — what's left
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kick — in football

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