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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cap — of ice
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cap — a lid
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. sharp — clever
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. swing — music
  11. content — happy
  12. rock — music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fork — in a road
  16. net — after costs
  17. swing — to play on
  18. content — the amount
  19. net — in sport
  20. rock — a stone
  21. net — for catching
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cap — a hat
  24. sharp — with an edge

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