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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. chair — a leader
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. content — happy
  6. bore — to tire
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. content — the amount
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. trunk — of a tree

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