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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. file — a document
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — to go on
  6. file — a tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. key — in music
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. last — final
  11. key — for a lock
  12. mine — for digging
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chest — a box
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rest — what's left
  17. key — the most important part
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rest — a break
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — finally
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rest — what's left

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