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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. land — ground
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. land — to come down
  8. last — finally
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. net — in sport
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. last — to go on
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. land — a country
  20. net — after costs
  21. shower — rain
  22. net — for catching
  23. last — final
  24. fork — in a road

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