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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. pound — a weight
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. degree — from a university
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. degree — an amount
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. content — videos and posts
  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