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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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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: saw · court · pass · craft · pop · cold · lie · fork

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pop — music
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of law
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pop — soda
  12. saw — the tool
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pass — a permit
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. court — for sport
  21. lie — to recline
  22. pop — to visit
  23. court — of a king
  24. fork — in a road

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