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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · wake · wound · object · craft · row · kick · face

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. game — wild animals
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. kick — in football
  8. object — an aim
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. game — a match
  11. row — a line
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. craft — boats
  15. face — to point toward
  16. object — a thing
  17. wound — an injury
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. face — to confront
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. face — part of the head

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