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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. ground — crushed
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ground — the earth
  5. current — happening now
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ball — a dance
  9. prune — to trim
  10. current — of water
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. ground — a position
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. current — electric
  16. row — a line
  17. branch — a division
  18. fork — in a road
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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