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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — a stone
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — not warm
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fork — in a road
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mug — a face
  13. cold — an illness
  14. march — music
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. march — the month
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. lash — to lash out

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