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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 120 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. key — the most important part
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. row — a line
  7. fine — all right
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. key — in music
  10. object — a thing
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. club — a group
  13. object — an aim
  14. fine — high quality
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bat — the animal
  17. club — for golf
  18. key — for a lock
  19. object — to protest
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. dip — a sauce

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