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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cell · firm · chair · scale · mine · fork · date · spring

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. scale — size or range
  3. firm — a company
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — of water
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. firm — steady
  10. mine — for digging
  11. date — the fruit
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. chair — a leader
  14. firm — decided
  15. cell — in biology
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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