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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — a match
  7. cell — a phone
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. fork — in a road
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. object — to protest
  17. last — final
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. game — wild animals
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — an aim
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. fan — a supporter

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