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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. present — there
  8. kick — in football
  9. fork — in a road
  10. date — the fruit
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cold — an illness
  13. present — a gift
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. degree — an amount
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. cue — for pool
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. present — the time now
  24. degree — temperature

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