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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. file — a document
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. track — a song
  8. staff — a stick
  9. track — to keep track
  10. staff — employees
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a line of people
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. staff — employees
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. file — a tool
  21. track — a path
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wave — with your hand

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