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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.

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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 · lie · fork · bound · cell · present · kid · rush

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bound — tied together
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. present — a gift
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cell — in biology
  8. kid — child
  9. rush — hurry
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bound — certain
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. march — music
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cell — a phone
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. rush — a thrill

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