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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: last · march · calf · kick · file · wave · fork · chip

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. march — music
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. file — a document
  9. march — the month
  10. chip — for betting
  11. last — finally
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. file — a line of people
  21. chip — to eat
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. fork — in a road

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