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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. firm — decided
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. firm — a company
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. net — after costs
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stem — to come from
  13. fork — in a road
  14. ground — the earth
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wound — an injury
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. firm — steady
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. ground — a position
  24. stem — a stem cell

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