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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. track — to keep track
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. chest — a box
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fork — in a road
  14. track — a song
  15. tube — the underground
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ground — a position
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. tube — a container
  24. track — a path

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