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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. hand — help
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lean — to bend
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kick — in football
  14. saw — the tool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hand — in cards
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. can — a tin
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. lean — thin

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