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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. season — of the year
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. hand — help
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. land — a country
  14. rash — hasty
  15. fork — in a road
  16. land — to come down
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bore — to drill
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — ground
  23. rash — a series
  24. hand — in cards

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