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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: kid · mouse · fork · ground · season · wind · kick · coach

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kid — child
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — the earth
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. ground — a position
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. kick — in football
  18. kid — to tease
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — of the year
  24. wind — to turn a key

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