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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. lean — thin
  3. bat — the animal
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. fork — in a road
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. march — music
  14. tube — a container
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. march — the month
  17. lean — to bend
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. tube — the underground
  20. perch — the fish
  21. present — the time now
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — the month
  24. jam — in traffic

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