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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: plane · mine · face · fork · kick · row · swing · lash

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. swing — music
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. fork — in a road
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. plane — a tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. row — to paddle
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. mine — for digging
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. face — to confront
  18. kick — in football
  19. face — part of the head
  20. swing — to play on
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. row — a line
  24. swing — in golf

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