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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. vault — a safe
  3. club — for dancing
  4. hand — in cards
  5. club — for golf
  6. mate — to breed
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pit — a hole
  9. mate — a friend
  10. fall — to drop
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. fall — the season
  13. mate — a partner
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. fork — in a road
  16. club — a group
  17. hand — help
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cell — a phone
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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