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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. fork — in a road
  5. row — to paddle
  6. court — for sport
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. row — a line
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. court — of a king
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. march — the month
  21. court — of law
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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