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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. land — to come down
  9. face — part of the head
  10. kid — to tease
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. land — ground
  13. face — to confront
  14. land — a country
  15. fork — in a road
  16. deal — to handle
  17. kid — child
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. game — wild animals
  23. face — to point toward
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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