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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wind — moving air
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. band — a ring
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fork — in a road
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. current — of water
  15. wind — moving air
  16. current — electric
  17. band — a music group
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. last — finally
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. current — happening now
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — a measure

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