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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. charge — electricity
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fork — in a road
  10. charge — a price
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. hand — in cards
  14. file — a line of people
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — a stone
  19. charge — in control
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. file — a document
  24. hand — help

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