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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bound — obliged
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. pit — a hole
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rule — government
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bound — tied together
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bound — certain
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — a law
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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