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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. ball — a dance
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. net — in sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ball — a great time
  7. tube — the underground
  8. key — for a lock
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. key — the most important part
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. fork — in a road
  16. tube — a container
  17. chest — a box
  18. key — in music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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