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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. saw — the tool
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bulb — for light
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — child
  21. wound — an injury
  22. snap — to click
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bulb — for light

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