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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pit — a hole
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bore — to tire
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. march — the month
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bore — to drill
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cue — for pool
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. bore — gave birth

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