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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. net — after costs
  7. bat — the animal
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fine — all right
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fine — high quality
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. net — for catching
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. net — in sport
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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