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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — certain
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. staff — employees
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. file — a line of people
  19. staff — employees
  20. chair — a leader
  21. fork — in a road
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. staff — a stick
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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