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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 124 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cue — a signal
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. file — a line of people
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cue — for pool
  15. perch — the fish
  16. file — a document
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. file — a tool
  24. cue — a hint

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