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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. present — a gift
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bat — the animal
  15. present — the time now
  16. mark — a trace
  17. present — there
  18. mark — a grade

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