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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spring — a coil
  4. track — a song
  5. spring — the season
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — the sport
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. track — to keep track
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. track — a path
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. cold — not warm
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fork — in a road

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