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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 120 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: mate · pass · rush · rest · fork · kick · ball · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. ball — a dance
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rest — a break
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rest — what's left
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. present — there
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ball — a great time
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. present — the time now
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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