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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. band — a ring
  3. mug — a face
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. march — the month
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bore — to drill
  15. fork — in a road
  16. band — a music group
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. march — music
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. march — the month

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