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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. fork — in a road
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. pitch — completely
  9. wake — a trail
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. degree — from a university
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tube — a container
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wake — before a funeral

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