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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. sharp — clever
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. staff — employees
  10. ground — a position
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — the earth
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ground — crushed
  16. shower — rain
  17. staff — employees
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. fork — in a road
  22. prune — to trim
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. staff — a stick

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