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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rest — a break
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. ground — a position
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ground — the earth
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kick — in football

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