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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pit — in a race
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. vault — a safe
  12. fall — the season
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pit — a hole
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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