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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. file — a document
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. last — to go on
  13. season — of the year
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. season — in sport
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. current — of water
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. current — electric
  21. last — final
  22. last — finally
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. current — happening now

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