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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. net — for catching
  3. present — there
  4. chest — a box
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — in sport
  7. fork — in a road
  8. land — to come down
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. present — a gift
  11. swing — in golf
  12. land — ground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. chest — of your body
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. net — after costs
  19. land — a country
  20. tube — the underground
  21. present — the time now
  22. tube — a container
  23. chest — of your body
  24. swing — music

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