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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. press — newspapers
  4. face — part of the head
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spell — letters
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. ground — the earth
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. spell — a short time
  13. press — to push
  14. prune — to trim
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fork — in a road
  17. face — to confront
  18. game — a match
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. ground — a position
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. face — to point toward
  24. spell — magic

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