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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bear — the animal
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tube — a container
  5. fork — in a road
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. key — in music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. suit — clothes
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. suit — in cards
  15. clip — to cut
  16. tube — the underground
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. key — for a lock
  23. suit — to fit
  24. key — the most important part

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