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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. game — a match
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fork — in a road
  20. stand — to bear
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fine — all right
  23. bore — to drill
  24. stand — for spectators

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