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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: cold · bowl · fork · calf · game · mark · stick · mine

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. mark — a grade
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mark — a trace
  24. calf — a young animal

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