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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 · lash · lie · kick · game · cold · court · row

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kick — in football
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. game — wild animals
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lie — to recline
  9. court — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — of law
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. court — of a king
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. row — a line
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. game — a match
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fork — a garden tool

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