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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: fork · kick · cap · chest · toast · snap · field · rash

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. field — for sport
  3. cap — a hat
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. rash — a series
  6. field — a subject
  7. rash — hasty
  8. kick — in football
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. toast — bread
  13. snap — to click
  14. field — farmland
  15. chest — of your body
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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