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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. present — the time now
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. last — to go on
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in biology
  15. present — there
  16. last — final
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. sharp — clever
  24. row — to paddle

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