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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 120 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — the sport
  4. suit — to fit
  5. hand — help
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. suit — clothes
  16. hand — in cards
  17. suit — in cards
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rash — a series
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rash — hasty
  24. coach — a trainer

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