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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bulb — for light
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. ground — the earth
  6. hand — help
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. hand — in cards
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ground — a position
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fork — in a road
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bulb — for light
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. ground — crushed
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. stand — to bear

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