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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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468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. kick — in football
  14. present — there
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. game — wild animals
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. pass — a permit
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. kick — a thrill

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