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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: march · ball · wound · safe · temple · spring · fork · game

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. ball — a great time
  3. march — the month
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. game — wild animals
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. march — the month
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ball — a dance
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wound — an injury
  22. march — music
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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