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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. march — the month
  5. court — for sport
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. court — of law
  8. stock — shares
  9. march — music
  10. fork — in a road
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. march — the month
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. file — a line of people
  20. stock — goods
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. court — of a king
  23. file — a document
  24. temple — a place of worship

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