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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. court — of a king
  3. fork — in a road
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. scale — size or range
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. snap — to click
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. lie — to recline
  14. scale — in music
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. march — the month
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. march — the month
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. march — music
  22. court — for sport
  23. shower — rain
  24. court — of law

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