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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mate — a partner
  5. fork — in a road
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fall — the season
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cell — in biology
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. snap — to click
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fall — to drop
  21. sharp — clever
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. mate — to breed
  24. sharp — exactly

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