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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. current — happening now
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — not warm
  9. current — electric
  10. mug — a cup
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cell — a phone
  13. squash — to crush
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. band — a ring
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mug — a face
  21. current — of water
  22. mug — to rob
  23. band — a music group
  24. cell — in biology

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