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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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kick — in football
  4. face — to point toward
  5. march — music
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. rash — hasty
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. march — the month
  12. content — happy
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. rash — a series
  15. content — the amount
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. face — part of the head
  20. march — the month
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. face — to confront

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