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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: mine · present · chest · cabinet · stick · last · charge · fork

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. last — final
  7. present — a gift
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. charge — in control
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chest — of your body
  13. charge — electricity
  14. present — the time now
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. charge — a price
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. fork — in a road
  22. chest — a box
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. present — there

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