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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cell — a phone
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bass — low music
  8. dip — to sink
  9. cell — in biology
  10. present — a gift
  11. object — to protest
  12. present — the time now
  13. hand — in cards
  14. present — there
  15. fork — in a road
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. object — an aim
  22. bass — the fish
  23. object — a thing
  24. pound — to hit hard

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