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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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 — a straw man
  4. chest — a box
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rash — hasty
  8. cap — a hat
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wind — moving air

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