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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. present — there
  5. land — to come down
  6. fork — in a road
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. saw — the tool
  11. court — for sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. present — a gift
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pop — to visit
  17. present — the time now
  18. pop — soda
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. court — of a king
  21. pop — music
  22. court — of law
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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