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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: racket · game · object · mark · mine · saw · cold · fork

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cold — an illness
  3. game — wild animals
  4. object — a thing
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. game — a match
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mark — a grade
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mark — a trace
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. mine — for digging
  21. saw — the tool
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. object — an aim
  24. fork — a garden tool

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