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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. firm — a company
  4. fork — in a road
  5. chair — a leader
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — after costs
  9. firm — decided
  10. cap — a hat
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — music
  16. cap — a lid
  17. march — the month
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. firm — steady
  21. net — in sport
  22. cap — of ice
  23. net — for catching
  24. march — the month

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