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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: mug · kick · march · fork · fine · roll · shower · wind

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. shower — rain
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fork — in a road
  8. mug — a face
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. roll — a cake
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. march — the month
  16. kick — in football
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mug — to rob
  20. march — music
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. roll — a list
  24. march — the month

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