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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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Word bank
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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: wound · kick · foot · roll · game · rock · date · can

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. can — to be able to
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rock — music
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. roll — a cake
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. wound — an injury
  13. date — the fruit
  14. roll — a list
  15. rock — a stone
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. foot — a measure
  24. roll — on a roll

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