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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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 — to eat with
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. snap — to click
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. drill — the tool
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. file — a document
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. file — a tool
  20. stock — shares
  21. file — a line of people
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. stock — goods
  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