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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. last — finally
  3. content — the amount
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. root — of a word
  10. file — a document
  11. fork — in a road
  12. last — final
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. content — happy
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. root — the cause
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. last — to go on
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. root — of a plant
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. content — videos and posts

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