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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. deal — to handle
  4. court — for sport
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. march — the month
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. stock — goods
  9. court — of a king
  10. object — to protest
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. court — of law
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. object — an aim
  18. march — music
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. stock — shares
  22. march — the month
  23. fork — in a road
  24. object — a thing

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