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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. game — a match
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fine — all right
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. ball — a great time
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. ball — a dance
  11. fall — to drop
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fork — in a road
  14. spell — a short time
  15. row — a line
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. spell — letters
  20. row — to paddle
  21. kick — in football
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. spell — magic
  24. fine — high quality

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