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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — magic
  4. fork — in a road
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. spell — letters
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. march — music
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. march — the month
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tube — a container
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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