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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 116 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. charge — a price
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. can — a tin
  10. spring — the season
  11. charge — electricity
  12. spring — of water
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. charge — in control
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — a coil
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. rash — hasty
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. can — a tin
  23. rash — a series
  24. pound — a weight

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