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

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. staff — a stick
  4. hand — help
  5. pop — soda
  6. staff — employees
  7. row — a line
  8. deal — to handle
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wound — an injury
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. dip — to sink
  18. fork — in a road
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — music
  22. staff — employees
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pop — to visit

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