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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. tube — the underground
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — not warm
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. tube — a container
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. land — a country
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. land — ground
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. scale — size or range
  21. object — an aim
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — an illness
  24. scale — in music

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