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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. kick — in football
  4. rule — government
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chair — a leader
  8. key — in music
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ball — a great time
  15. chest — a box
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chest — of your body
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rule — a law
  20. fork — in a road
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wound — an injury

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