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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. last — final
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fork — in a road
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. band — a ring
  10. wax — to grow
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. band — a music group
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. last — to go on
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fall — to drop

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