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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mug — to rob
  8. shower — rain
  9. mug — a face
  10. date — the fruit
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. mug — a cup
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rash — a series
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. mine — for digging
  24. clip — to cut

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