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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. land — to come down
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. key — for a lock
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cold — not warm
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. sharp — clever
  17. key — the most important part
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. fork — in a road
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fan — a supporter

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