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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. swing — to play on
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. key — in music
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. swing — music
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fall — to drop
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fall — the season
  20. swing — in golf
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. key — for a lock
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. calf — a young animal

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