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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fall — to drop
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. fall — the season
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. prune — to trim
  7. press — a publisher
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fork — in a road
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. key — the most important part
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stock — goods
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. key — in music
  20. key — for a lock
  21. stock — shares
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — to push
  24. bat — in an idiom

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