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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. fork — in a road
  6. hand — help
  7. drill — the tool
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. drill — army training
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. ground — a position
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. ground — the earth
  16. craft — a skill
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. craft — boats
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wake — a trail
  22. toast — bread
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ground — crushed

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