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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. firm — steady
  3. march — the month
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. firm — decided
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. march — the month
  14. squash — to crush
  15. march — music
  16. land — a country
  17. fork — in a road
  18. firm — a company

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