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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rash — hasty
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. current — electric
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. current — of water
  11. bass — the fish
  12. current — happening now
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. bass — low music
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. fork — in a road
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rash — a series
  24. kick — with a leg

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