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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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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: kick · fork · mate · bat · wake · spell · hide · wind

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kick — in football
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mate — a friend
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. spell — letters
  24. kick — a thrill

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