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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 116 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. content — happy
  6. file — a tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. sharp — clever
  9. content — the amount
  10. bear — the animal
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fork — in a road
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. dip — to sink
  18. file — a document
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. net — for catching
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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