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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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. spring — of water
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. snap — to click
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. spring — the season
  10. rule — government
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wound — an injury
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rule — a law
  16. degree — from a university
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. degree — temperature
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spring — a coil

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