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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: saw · fork · capital · wake · wind · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — money
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. saw — the tool
  13. capital — a city
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wake — before a funeral

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