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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. drill — a practice
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. fork — in a road
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rash — a series
  23. roll — a list
  24. drill — army training

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