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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rock — music
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rash — hasty
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. can — a tin
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. snap — to click
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. lie — to recline
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. spring — a coil
  18. can — a tin
  19. rash — a series
  20. can — to be able to
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rock — a stone
  23. fork — in a road
  24. spring — the season

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