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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fine — high quality
  3. net — for catching
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fine — all right
  6. bore — to drill
  7. net — after costs
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cold — not warm
  11. fork — in a road
  12. game — wild animals
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. season — in sport
  16. game — a match
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. season — of the year
  20. net — in sport
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cold — the Cold War

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