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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: court · mate · wake · stick · toast · bound · fork · cold

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bound — certain
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. court — for sport
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bound — obliged
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fork — in a road
  19. mate — a partner
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. toast — bread

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