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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tube — the underground
  3. staff — employees
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. kick — in football
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. staff — employees
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. land — a country
  11. bass — low music
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. staff — a stick
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fork — in a road
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — dry grass

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