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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. spell — letters
  5. key — in music
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spell — a short time
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. field — for sport
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. spell — magic
  15. fork — in a road
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — crushed
  20. field — a subject
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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