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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. spell — magic
  6. band — a music group
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spell — a short time
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. spell — letters
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. last — to go on
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fork — in a road
  24. rest — what's left

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