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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. band — a music group
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. rest — what's left
  9. band — a ring
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — a position
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bat — the animal

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