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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cell — a phone
  3. row — to paddle
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pit — a hole
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pit — in a race
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mine — for digging
  14. row — a line
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bulb — for light
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. fork — in a road
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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