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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. can — a tin
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fork — in a road
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chest — a box
  8. mine — for digging
  9. can — a tin
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. content — happy
  14. spell — a short time
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — to crush
  17. content — the amount
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. chest — of your body
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. shower — rain
  24. can — to be able to

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