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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pass — a permit
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. squash — the sport
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a tool
  20. kick — in football
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. file — a document
  24. squash — the vegetable

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