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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. land — to come down
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. last — finally
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. last — to go on
  9. land — a country
  10. court — for sport
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. land — ground
  13. bore — to drill
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pit — in a race
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bore — to tire
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. last — final
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. fork — in a road

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