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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 ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. content — the amount
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mark — a trace
  6. ground — crushed
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mark — a grade
  12. content — happy
  13. chair — a leader
  14. net — after costs
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fork — in a road
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chair — a professorship

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