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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cell — in biology
  4. degree — from a university
  5. drill — a practice
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cell — a phone
  8. drill — army training
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. march — the month
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. staff — employees
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. march — the month
  19. degree — an amount
  20. staff — employees
  21. drill — the tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. staff — a stick
  24. march — music

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