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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: cap · kick · ground · fork · cue · mine · wound · rest

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. rest — a break
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cue — a signal
  12. kick — in football
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fork — in a road
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cap — of ice
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cap — a hat
  24. ground — a position

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