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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. land — to come down
  7. bass — the fish
  8. land — ground
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a friend
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — in a road
  21. land — a country
  22. bass — low music
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bass — the instrument

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