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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 120 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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 — a country
  3. spell — magic
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spring — the season
  13. clip — for paper
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — of water
  18. rush — hurry
  19. deal — to handle
  20. spell — letters
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. land — ground
  23. clip — a video
  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