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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: fork · arm · pit · press · game · temple · saw · date

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pit — in a race
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. press — to push
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. game — a match
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. saw — the tool
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. press — newspapers
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. press — a publisher
  20. game — wild animals
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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