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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. club — a group
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. ground — a position
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. club — for dancing
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. deal — to handle
  17. hand — help
  18. club — for golf
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. straw — dry grass

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