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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. kid — child
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. clip — a video
  8. spring — the season
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fork — in a road
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. track — a path
  15. snap — to click
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spring — of water
  18. ball — a great time
  19. track — to keep track
  20. spring — a coil
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. clip — to cut
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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