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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. mate — to breed
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a ring
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. fork — in a road
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mate — a friend
  13. tear — from crying
  14. scale — in music
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. season — of the year
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. band — a music group
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. mate — a partner
  24. tear — from crying

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