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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. press — to push
  3. bass — the fish
  4. degree — an amount
  5. present — there
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — a practice
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. ball — a dance
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ball — a great time
  18. scale — in music
  19. present — the time now
  20. bass — low music
  21. drill — army training
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. present — a gift
  24. fork — a garden tool

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