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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 124 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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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: wound · cell · dip · season · mine · fork · face · kick

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. face — to confront
  3. season — of the year
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fork — in a road
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. face — to point toward
  11. cell — in biology
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kick — in football
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. season — in sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mine — for digging

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