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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. game — a match
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — in cards
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. land — to come down
  12. tube — a container
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mark — a trace
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cabinet — ministers

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