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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. shower — rain
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — finally
  6. track — a song
  7. last — final
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. track — a path
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. net — after costs
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — to go on
  20. staff — a stick
  21. net — in sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. deal — to handle
  24. shower — to wash

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