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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. kid — child
  7. fork — in a road
  8. band — a music group
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — to tease
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cap — a hat
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bass — low music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. band — a ring
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cap — a lid

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