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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kid — child
  4. mine — for digging
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. track — to keep track
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rash — a series
  10. track — a path
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. chest — a box
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. track — a song
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. chest — of your body
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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