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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. kick — in football
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cold — not warm
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rock — music
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. fork — in a road
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. last — finally
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. rock — a stone
  19. last — to go on
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. last — final
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wax — to grow
  24. kick — with a leg

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