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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. ground — a position
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. file — a tool
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. spring — of water
  15. file — a document
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bark — to shout
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fall — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fall — to drop
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. spring — the season

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