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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. cap — of ice
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bulb — for light
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. staff — employees
  15. chair — a leader
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cold — not warm
  21. staff — employees
  22. cap — a hat
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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