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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hand — help
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fine — high quality
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. fine — all right
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — a safe
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fork — in a road
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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