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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. charge — a price
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mine — for digging
  13. swing — in golf
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. charge — in control
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rash — a series
  18. rush — hurry
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. charge — electricity
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fork — in a road

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