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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fork — in a road
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. foot — a measure
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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