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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 need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. ground — a position
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. key — for a lock
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rule — a law
  8. key — the most important part
  9. band — a music group
  10. ground — crushed
  11. object — an aim
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. object — to protest
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fork — in a road
  17. cell — in biology
  18. object — a thing
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. key — in music
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. band — a ring
  23. rule — government
  24. cell — in a prison

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