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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. lean — thin
  3. rash — a series
  4. scale — in music
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pitch — completely
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. lean — to bend
  13. craft — a skill
  14. rash — hasty
  15. game — a match
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. fork — in a road
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fork — a garden tool

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