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

Word bank: fork · fall · chair · temple · march · cell

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chair — a leader
  3. march — the month
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fall — the season
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. march — music
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fall — to drop
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fall — to drop

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