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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. march — music
  3. chest — a box
  4. march — the month
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. present — the time now
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — in a road
  14. present — a gift
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cold — not warm
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. march — the month
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. present — there
  24. foot — a measure

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