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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cell — a phone
  10. land — a country
  11. rest — what's left
  12. object — a thing
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rest — a break
  17. object — an aim
  18. band — a music group
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. land — ground
  22. band — a ring
  23. land — to come down
  24. object — to protest

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