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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — an aim
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. kick — in football
  18. spring — the season
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. object — to protest

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