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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. file — a tool
  3. scale — in music
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wax — to grow
  7. file — a document
  8. squash — the sport
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. file — a line of people
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. fork — in a road
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. chip — to eat
  23. scale — size or range
  24. chip — in a computer

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