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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. land — ground
  3. march — the month
  4. land — to come down
  5. march — the month
  6. content — happy
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. mug — to rob
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. content — the amount
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fork — in a road
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cap — of ice
  19. land — a country
  20. march — music
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cap — a hat
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — a face

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