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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — letters
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rash — a series
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. fork — in a road
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. fine — high quality
  20. content — the amount
  21. spell — magic
  22. rash — hasty
  23. spell — a short time
  24. fine — all right

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