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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bound — obliged
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bound — certain
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. spring — the season
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stand — to bear
  10. file — a document
  11. roll — a cake
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rule — government
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bound — tied together
  19. roll — a list
  20. bore — to drill
  21. spring — of water
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. rule — a 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