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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. mark — a grade
  3. chip — to eat
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fork — in a road
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. mark — a trace
  23. chip — for betting
  24. kick — in football

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