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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. saw — the tool
  8. face — to confront
  9. court — of a king
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. key — in music
  12. court — of law
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. key — for a lock
  15. face — part of the head
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. court — for sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. face — to point toward
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  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