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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 120 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. last — to go on
  4. object — a thing
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fork — in a road
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. spring — the season
  9. drill — the tool
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. last — final
  13. spring — of water
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. last — finally
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — army training
  20. current — electric
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fork — a garden tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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