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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. fork — in a road
  3. net — in sport
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. firm — steady
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. net — after costs
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. firm — decided
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. firm — a company
  18. spring — of water
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. net — for catching
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. file — a line of people

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