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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wound — an injury
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fork — in a road
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. band — a ring
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. band — a music group
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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