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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. ball — a dance
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — help
  6. row — to paddle
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. press — to push
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. press — newspapers
  19. row — a line
  20. wake — a trail
  21. press — a publisher
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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