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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  3. season — in sport
  4. kid — child
  5. pit — a hole
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. season — of the year
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. deal — to handle
  10. fork — in a road
  11. march — the month
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. pit — in a race
  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