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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. shower — to wash
  3. charge — in control
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. hand — help
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — steady
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. firm — decided
  14. charge — a price
  15. shower — rain
  16. charge — electricity
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. hand — in cards
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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