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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. roll — a cake
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. club — a group
  6. shower — to wash
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. club — for golf
  9. wind — moving air
  10. season — in sport
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fork — in a road
  13. craft — a skill
  14. roll — a list
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. season — of the year
  18. shower — rain
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wind — moving air
  23. craft — boats
  24. wind — to turn a key

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