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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. toast — bread
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kick — in football
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. shower — rain
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fork — in a road
  14. saw — the tool
  15. scale — in music
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. saw — the tool
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. kick — with a leg

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