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

Word bank: bat · root · last · fork · kick · lie · snap · sharp

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. root — of a word
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. last — finally
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. lie — to recline
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. snap — to click
  15. root — of a plant
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. root — the cause
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bat — the animal
  21. kick — in football
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fork — in a road
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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