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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: net · tear · kick · fork · board · arm · wake · land

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kick — in football
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. net — after costs
  6. tear — from crying
  7. land — a country
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. board — a committee
  10. net — for catching
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. land — ground
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. board — to get on
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. net — in sport
  22. land — to come down
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wake — before a funeral

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