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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 116 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. swing — music
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pass — a permit
  8. ground — crushed
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. swing — in golf
  11. game — a match
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. tube — a container
  15. ground — the earth
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. ground — a position
  22. swing — to play on
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. hide — to keep secret

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