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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. cell — a phone
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cell — in biology
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. mate — to breed
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. degree — from a university
  16. prune — to trim
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. mate — a partner
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fork — a garden tool

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