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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: fork · march · stem · pit · hand · mine · last · cell

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. march — music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. last — to go on
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cell — in biology
  10. last — finally
  11. hand — help
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. march — the month
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stem — to come from
  16. last — final
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pit — in a race
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pit — a hole

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