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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hand — help
  3. net — in sport
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fork — in a road
  6. season — of the year
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. race — humankind
  9. net — for catching
  10. season — in sport
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. net — after costs
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. race — the arms race
  23. kick — in football
  24. fork — to eat with

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