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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. land — to come down
  6. spell — magic
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spell — letters
  12. land — a country
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. land — ground
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. face — to point toward
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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