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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 120 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. march — the month
  8. fork — in a road
  9. press — to push
  10. chest — of your body
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. suit — clothes
  14. scale — in music
  15. march — the month
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. suit — in cards
  21. march — music
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. suit — to fit

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