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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. ball — a dance
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tube — the underground
  12. sharp — clever
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. tube — a container
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. branch — a division
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. degree — temperature
  23. ball — a great time
  24. saw — the tool

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