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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. march — the month
  3. fine — all right
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. march — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ball — a dance
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. fork — in a road
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. key — the most important part
  18. ball — a great time
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. branch — a division
  21. march — the month
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. branch — of a bank

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