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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. field — a subject
  6. fork — in a road
  7. chair — a leader
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. object — to protest
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — music
  18. field — for sport
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. field — farmland
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. toast — bread

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