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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. can — to be able to
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fall — the season
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. can — a tin
  10. fork — in a road
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. wound — an injury
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. can — a tin
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pit — a hole
  23. ground — the earth
  24. fall — to drop

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