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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. kick — in football
  4. spring — of water
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. clip — a video
  8. last — final
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. squash — the sport
  12. last — finally
  13. fork — in a road
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. last — to go on
  22. squash — to crush
  23. spring — the season
  24. clip — for paper

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