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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spring — the season
  5. kid — to tease
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. kick — in football
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fork — in a road
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. kid — child
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — hurry
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. spring — of water
  24. fork — a garden tool

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