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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 120 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cell — in biology
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — the month
  10. firm — a company
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. firm — decided
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cell — a phone
  18. firm — steady
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — the month
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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