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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 · last · mouse · present · rest · file · spring

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. spring — the season
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. file — a document
  9. present — there
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rest — a break
  12. last — finally
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. file — a tool
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. last — to go on
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — a gift
  23. file — a line of people
  24. last — final

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