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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rock — music
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. present — a gift
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. capital — money
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. present — there
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bear — the animal
  14. snap — to click
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rock — a stone
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. present — the time now
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bear — the animal
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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