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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. track — to keep track
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. pop — soda
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pop — to visit
  9. fork — in a road
  10. kick — in football
  11. track — a path
  12. pop — music
  13. last — final
  14. wound — an injury
  15. date — the fruit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. last — finally
  20. track — a song
  21. last — to go on
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. kick — a thrill

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