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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 need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. hand — help
  3. current — happening now
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. suit — clothes
  7. clip — for paper
  8. shower — rain
  9. suit — to fit
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. clip — to cut
  14. current — of water
  15. suit — in cards
  16. pound — a weight
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. clip — a video
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fork — in a road
  21. current — electric
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. hand — in cards

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