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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mug — to rob
  3. fork — in a road
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. board — to get on
  7. tear — to rip
  8. snap — to click
  9. board — a committee
  10. key — in music
  11. mug — a cup
  12. key — for a lock
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mug — a face
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. board — a flat piece

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