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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. content — the amount
  7. present — there
  8. tube — a container
  9. present — the time now
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. present — a gift
  23. content — happy
  24. fork — in a road

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