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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 120 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. club — for golf
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. club — for dancing
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. row — a line
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pound — a weight
  19. club — a group
  20. vault — a safe
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. row — to paddle
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. snap — to click

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