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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. roll — a list
  3. season — in sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. track — a song
  7. fork — in a road
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. snap — to click
  10. track — to keep track
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. row — a line
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. row — to paddle
  15. season — of the year
  16. track — a path
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. roll — a cake
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fork — to eat with

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