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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. spell — letters
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fine — all right
  18. spell — a short time
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. spell — magic
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — the animal

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