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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. hand — help
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. rest — a break
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. fork — in a road
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stock — goods
  20. dip — to sink
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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