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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 120 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. spell — magic
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. club — for golf
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. shower — rain
  16. spell — letters
  17. club — for dancing
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hand — help
  20. fork — in a road
  21. club — a group
  22. deal — to handle
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pitcher — a jug

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