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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. net — in sport
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bound — certain
  11. net — for catching
  12. bound — tied together
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mine — for digging
  16. net — after costs
  17. bound — obliged
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cell — a phone
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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