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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. clip — to cut
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. lean — thin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cue — a signal
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cue — a hint
  11. clip — a video
  12. spring — of water
  13. last — to go on
  14. spring — a coil
  15. last — finally
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cue — for pool
  20. last — final
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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