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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. track — a path
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. rash — hasty
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. rash — a series
  19. track — to keep track
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. sharp — clever
  24. track — a song

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