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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. fork — in a road
  13. stand — to bear
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. shower — rain
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kick — in football
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. shower — to wash

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