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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: court · bat · tube · safe · cold · net · fork · bore

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. net — after costs
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bat — the animal
  7. net — in sport
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. tube — a container
  12. net — for catching
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. court — for sport
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bore — to tire
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. court — of law

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