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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. club — for golf
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. court — for sport
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. march — the month
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. court — of a king
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. scale — size or range
  15. march — music
  16. court — of law
  17. club — a group
  18. march — the month
  19. club — for dancing
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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