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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — in a road
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cue — a hint
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. shower — to wash
  12. content — happy
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cue — a signal
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wake — a trail
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. plane — a tool
  24. shower — rain

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