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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 120 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. deal — to handle
  3. lean — to bend
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. lean — thin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. fork — in a road
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. wax — to grow
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. can — a tin
  18. swing — music
  19. ground — crushed
  20. swing — to play on
  21. can — a tin
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cold — not warm

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