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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. fine — all right
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. scale — size or range
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. game — a match
  9. plane — a tool
  10. scale — in music
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. fork — in a road
  17. hand — help
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. fine — high quality
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. fork — a garden tool

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