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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fork — in a road
  4. chair — a leader
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bat — the animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bowl — to roll

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