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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: fall · fork · lean · kid · rush · cold · fine · club

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fork — in a road
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. club — for golf
  8. cold — not warm
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — a group
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. kid — child
  13. lean — to bend
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. lean — thin
  16. fall — the season
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fine — all right
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fine — high quality

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