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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. drill — a practice
  3. sharp — clever
  4. firm — steady
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. suit — clothes
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fork — in a road
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. suit — in cards
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. drill — army training
  18. suit — to fit
  19. ground — a position
  20. drill — the tool
  21. firm — decided
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spell — magic
  24. firm — a company

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