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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · file · season · hand · fork · bowl · ball · jam

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. file — a document
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. file — a tool
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. hand — help
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. ground — a position
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. fork — in a road
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ball — a dance

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