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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in biology
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — clothes
  6. march — the month
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fork — a garden tool

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