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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. last — final
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. root — of a word
  9. kick — in football
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. root — of a plant
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — to go on
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. last — finally
  20. rush — hurry
  21. chip — to eat
  22. fork — in a road
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. root — the cause

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