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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 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. game — a match
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. fine — all right
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fork — in a road
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. scale — in music
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fine — high quality
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. game — wild animals

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