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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. file — a line of people
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — government
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. spring — the season
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spring — a coil
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitch — completely
  14. spring — of water
  15. kid — child
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. fork — to eat with

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