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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. last — final
  7. land — ground
  8. chest — a box
  9. last — to go on
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. last — finally
  14. land — to come down
  15. fall — to drop
  16. land — a country
  17. fall — the season
  18. cell — in biology
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fall — to drop

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