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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. hand — help
  4. fall — to drop
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. chest — a box
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fall — the season
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bat — the animal
  18. perch — the fish
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. chest — of your body

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