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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: net · bore · fork · cap · wave · kick · roll · wound

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. net — after costs
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. net — in sport
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fork — in a road
  19. net — for catching
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kick — in football
  23. roll — a list
  24. bore — to tire

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