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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rush — hurry
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. kid — child
  9. file — a line of people
  10. charge — in control
  11. kid — to tease
  12. charge — a price
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mate — a friend
  18. vault — a safe
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. charge — electricity
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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