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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. saw — the tool
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. shower — to wash
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rock — a stone
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rock — music
  15. net — for catching
  16. court — of a king
  17. net — in sport
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. net — after costs
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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