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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. foot — a measure
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. squash — the sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. chair — a leader
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lean — thin
  17. squash — to crush
  18. hand — help
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lean — to bend
  24. fork — in a road

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