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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. dip — to sink
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. net — for catching
  10. sharp — clever
  11. fall — the season
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. date — the fruit
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. fall — to drop
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. net — after costs
  21. fork — in a road
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. net — in sport

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