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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. file — a tool
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. scale — in music
  9. wake — a trail
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. mate — to breed
  13. file — a document
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fork — a garden tool

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