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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fork — in a road
  3. game — wild animals
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. staff — employees
  7. fall — to drop
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fall — the season
  10. rest — what's left
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. march — music
  14. scale — in music
  15. game — a match
  16. staff — employees
  17. rest — a break
  18. saw — the tool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. march — the month
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. rest — what's left

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