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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. land — to come down
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. track — a song
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. land — a country
  12. track — a path
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bark — to shout
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spring — the season
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. land — ground
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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