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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. season — of the year
  4. content — happy
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rest — a break
  8. drill — a practice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cap — a lid
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. drill — army training
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. shower — rain
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cap — a hat
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. season — in sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fork — in a road
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. content — the amount

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