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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lean — thin
  5. fork — in a road
  6. net — in sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. net — for catching
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. prune — to trim
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. game — a match
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. net — after costs

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