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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. land — ground
  5. game — a match
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. drill — army training
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. ball — a dance
  17. suit — in cards
  18. land — to come down
  19. suit — clothes
  20. suit — to fit
  21. present — the time now
  22. face — to confront
  23. land — a country
  24. game — wild animals

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