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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cap — a hat
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chair — a leader
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. court — of a king
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — for sport
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cold — not warm
  20. vault — a safe
  21. court — of law
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chair — to sit on
  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