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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fork — in a road
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. object — to protest
  8. present — a gift
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. object — a thing
  11. court — of law
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. present — the time now
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. court — for sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. shower — to wash
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. present — there
  21. branch — a division
  22. court — of a king
  23. shower — rain
  24. object — an aim

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