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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mate — to breed
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bass — low music
  9. mug — a face
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mate — a friend
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. game — a match
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mate — a partner
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bass — the instrument

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