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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cold — an illness
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mark — a trace
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. last — final
  13. shower — rain
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. shower — to wash
  20. branch — a division
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wake — a trail
  24. safe — out of danger

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