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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. last — finally
  11. chair — a leader
  12. last — final
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. track — a path
  18. last — to go on
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wake — a trail
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — an illness
  24. ruler — for measuring

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