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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. craft — boats
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. scale — in music
  13. fork — in a road
  14. sharp — clever
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. craft — a skill

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