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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — a match
  5. season — in sport
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. face — to confront
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. face — to point toward
  24. game — wild animals

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