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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. spring — the season
  4. game — a match
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. key — in music
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. spring — a coil
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. key — the most important part
  14. current — electric
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. current — of water
  18. spring — of water
  19. stand — to bear
  20. scale — in music
  21. current — happening now
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. fork — in a road

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