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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fork — in a road
  4. key — the most important part
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. key — in music
  7. spring — a coil
  8. foot — a measure
  9. spring — of water
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. key — for a lock
  15. swing — to play on
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bore — to drill
  18. spring — the season
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bore — to tire
  21. wax — to grow
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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