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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bound — tied together
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. swing — to play on
  9. last — final
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — to go on
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fork — in a road
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. last — finally
  20. bound — certain
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. swing — music

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