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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 · cold · spring · safe · chair · ruler · land · pitch

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pitch — completely
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. spring — of water
  6. land — a country
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. spring — the season
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. spring — a coil
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fork — in a road
  17. land — to come down
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cold — not warm
  20. land — ground
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. ruler — for measuring

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