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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. band — a music group
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — a law
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fork — in a road
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. branch — a division
  15. rule — government
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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