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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 124 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. can — a tin
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. spell — a short time
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. can — a tin
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. kick — in football
  18. file — a document
  19. fork — in a road
  20. can — to be able to
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. file — a line of people
  24. straw — a straw man

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