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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rest — a break
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bass — low music
  14. bulb — for light
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — a box
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. prune — the fruit

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