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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bear — the animal
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rock — music
  19. bear — the animal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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