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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. last — to go on
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bat — the animal
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — a safe
  10. kick — in football
  11. scale — size or range
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rest — what's left
  14. last — finally
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rest — a break
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. scale — in music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. last — final
  24. fork — in a road

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