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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bank — for money
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bank — for money
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rash — a series
  12. content — the amount
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pound — a weight
  18. content — happy
  19. squash — to crush
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bank — of a river
  24. squash — the sport

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