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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fork — in a road
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. current — of water
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stock — goods
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. stock — shares
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. spell — letters
  14. current — electric
  15. mine — for digging
  16. scale — in music
  17. spell — magic
  18. current — happening now
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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