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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. march — music
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cap — a lid
  13. game — a match
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cap — of ice
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. march — the month
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. lean — thin
  22. march — the month
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cabinet — ministers

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