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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. land — a country
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pit — a hole
  7. mate — a friend
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. pit — in a race
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. kick — in football
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bark — to shout
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wake — a trail

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