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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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Word bank
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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rash — a series
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fork — in a road
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for golf
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rash — hasty
  23. band — a music group
  24. kick — in football

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