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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. net — after costs
  4. bass — low music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — of water
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — a coil
  11. current — happening now
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spring — the season
  14. current — electric
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. net — in sport
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. lean — thin
  21. spring — of water
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bass — the fish

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