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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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. rule — a law
  4. plane — a tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. row — a line
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. snap — to click
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fine — all right

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