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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. club — for golf
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. club — for dancing
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. track — a path
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. track — a song
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — a group
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — help

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