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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 116 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: calf · fork · cold · degree · tube · lie · kick · firm

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. lie — to recline
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tube — a container
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cold — an illness
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fork — in a road
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kick — in football
  15. firm — a company
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. firm — steady
  24. cold — the Cold War

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