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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. ground — a position
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wax — to grow
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cap — a hat
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cap — a lid
  21. season — in sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wake — a trail
  24. season — of the year

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