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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — music
  9. chair — a leader
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fork — in a road
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bound — certain
  21. prune — to trim
  22. key — in music
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. march — the month

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