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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — a friend
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mate — to breed
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. mate — a partner
  15. last — final
  16. scale — size or range
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. last — finally
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. fork — in a road

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