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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · chair · cell · march · fork · cabinet

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fork — in a road
  3. chair — a leader
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. land — a country
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. march — the month
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. land — ground
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. chair — to sit on

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