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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 120 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. game — a match
  4. chair — a leader
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. game — wild animals
  7. content — the amount
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. ball — a great time
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. track — a song
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. content — happy
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. coach — a trainer

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