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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bound — tied together
  3. game — a match
  4. hand — in cards
  5. object — an aim
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bound — obliged
  10. content — the amount
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. object — a thing
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. game — wild animals
  18. object — to protest
  19. bound — certain
  20. hand — help
  21. content — happy
  22. date — the fruit
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fork — in a road

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