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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. craft — a skill
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rule — a law
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pound — a weight
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. craft — boats
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bass — low music
  23. file — a document
  24. rule — government

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