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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. prune — to trim
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. prune — to trim
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. row — a line
  12. kick — in football
  13. row — to paddle
  14. game — wild animals
  15. fork — in a road
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. plane — a tool
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. game — a kind of play

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