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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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 — a garden tool
  2. can — a tin
  3. squash — to crush
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tear — from crying
  7. can — to be able to
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. squash — the sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. tear — to rip
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. can — a tin
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitch — completely
  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