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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. court — of law
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. club — a group
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. club — for dancing
  9. net — in sport
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fine — high quality
  12. file — a tool
  13. present — there
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. club — for golf
  17. net — after costs
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. net — for catching
  20. file — a line of people
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — a gift
  23. file — a document
  24. fine — all right

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