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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a match
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. charge — a price
  9. band — a ring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. wake — a trail
  14. charge — in control
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — wild animals
  17. band — a music group
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. charge — electricity
  20. fork — in a road
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. chest — a box

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