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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. content — the amount
  14. spring — the season
  15. face — to confront
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. face — part of the head
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mine — for digging
  23. content — happy
  24. rock — music

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