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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tube — the underground
  4. season — of the year
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. season — in sport
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bat — the animal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. shower — rain
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. file — a document
  18. tube — a container
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. prune — to trim
  24. fork — a garden 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