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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. mate — a partner
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. court — for sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rash — a series
  12. kid — child
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — the season
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rash — hasty
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mate — a friend
  24. straw — dry grass

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