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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. shower — to wash
  5. object — an aim
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ball — a dance
  9. object — to protest
  10. kick — in football
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. season — of the year
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ball — a great time
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. season — in sport
  20. fork — in a road
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. shower — rain
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. object — a thing

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