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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 · bat · wind · lie · capital · rest · kick · scale

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kick — in football
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rest — a break
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. scale — size or range
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. capital — money
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. kick — with a leg

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