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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pound — a weight
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cap — a lid
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cap — of ice
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bark — to shout

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