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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. rash — hasty
  10. shower — rain
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. last — finally
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rash — a series
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. spell — letters
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. spell — magic
  24. lean — thin

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