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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. march — the month
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. press — to push
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. march — music
  12. mark — a grade
  13. drill — army training
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. drill — a practice
  16. march — the month
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fork — in a road
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mark — a trace
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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