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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — letters
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. fork — in a road
  14. spell — magic
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. lean — to bend
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. drill — the tool
  24. spell — a short time

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