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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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. rock — to move gently
  4. cap — a hat
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. cap — a lid
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. land — a country
  15. fork — in a road
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — music
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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