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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. season — in sport
  3. last — finally
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wake — a trail
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. last — final
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. row — a line
  16. last — to go on
  17. rush — hurry
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. season — of the year
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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